Hit the wrong button and posted before I got the plans in. Here are existing and proposed plans/

EXISTING LAYOUT:

NEW LAYOUT

NEW LAYOUT WALL VIEW:

NEW DR BUILT IN

3D VIEW

Have you posted a plan ? That's much easier to go by.

Wow- that was quick .

Plan looks good to me- I like the big drawers- especially in the penninsula. I'd maybe move the trash to the right of D.W. they look like the same size. I always like to have the trash closer to the sink, that way you aren't dragging wet or dirty dripping stuff across the kitchen from the sink.
Other than that - looks good

Yes, I realized the error added the drawings. Our posts must have crossed. Look forward to your input

Nice plans!
I am no expert at reading plans, but. . .

Things that I would ask about - - typically, for a dishwasher, the outlet needs to be low in the sink cabinet. It also needs to be on its own circuit. If the dishwasher is malfunctioning and you need to unplug it, it is much easier if you can access the plug and outlet under the sink. Specs usually require that.

Do you have a garbage disposal? If so that needs an outlet with its own circuit and a switch.

Is there seating at your island? Do you have enough outlets on the island. Think about plugging in laptop computers, for example.

It looks like some of the uppers are the type that fold up and pocket back into the cabinet? Check the heights on them and think about the people in your house. If everyone is tall, no problem. We have two cabinets like that and the shorter people in the family have to use a stepstool to close them.

Some fridges and ovens also need dedicated circuits. Don't rely on contractors to read appliance specs. Read them yourself and look for details. Our SubZero needed an extra-high on the wall dedicated circuit, for example.

Plumberiavine: Thanks for that good advice. I will definitely ask my KD about the outlets for DW, garbage disposal, island, & fridge. Do you have a suggestion on where I should put the outlet(s) for the island? I am thinking about putting in a wall mounted TV so I will at least make sure they bring in a cable wire for the future if I decide not to do it right now.

There is one fold up upper over the sink. I am 5' but my husband is 6' so we already know that cabinet is his! To your point, looks like there is another over the fridge. I have asked for a shallow cabinet at the end of the island for my step stool and for the other uppers to come down an inch or two lower so I can better reach them.

Granite-girl: I am still undecided about where to locate the pull out for the garbage and can't believe how much I have had to wrestle with this one without a resolution that feels right. I originally had the garbage pull out on the other side of the DW but then thought it was located too far at one end of the kitchen. So I moved it next to the range where it is now -- at the other end of the kitchen! It is located on the way in for scraping dishes. It is also near the island and prep area to the right of the range. What do you think of leaving the pull out where it is and putting a plastic Rubbermaid type garbage can under the sink that can be moved wherever I need it at the time? I guess if I had that, it wouldn't matter which of the two places I put the pullout. Which location would best work for flow and to avoid my husband and I being in the way of each other? A concundrum!

Regarding your island electrical - - make sure you pick up a copy of your city's requirements for kitchen remodels. That can be very helpful.

Pulling permits is worth every penny. I'll post a rant about that sometime. Without requiring permits in our contract, we would have been stuck with substandard electrical and overloaded circuits that would have been disastrous and short-lived - and would also have voided our SubZero warranty, our Miele dishwasher warranty,. . . The building inspectors are your allies. I am grateful to them for identifying the tip of the iceberg for mechanical and electrical and plumbing and venting and other issues. Don't buy the contractor motto, "Let's not pull permits. Don't worry. All our work is to code." Even if the work is to 2010 code (which it probably isn't), you are not grandfathered for changes in 2011 code if you don't get inspected in 2010. When you sell, a permitted remodeled kitchen is less likely to need corrections to sell and is more likely to put your buyer at ease that you are a responsible homeowner. Yikes! I am starting a rant! If you don't pull permits, you better learn how to tell if your outlets are grounded or not at the level of the wiring and a whole lot more about everything in the kitchen.

Anyways, my kitchen is not ideal planning in many ways and there are probably better methods for doing outlets than what we did. However, I am grateful that we put outlets under our overhang so that we can all plug in our laptops and compute at the overhang. We did four sockets there, and they are useful. We put a duplex on either side of the other end of the island. The outlets are inside cabinets - spice cabinets. Those we use less frequently but they have indeed been used already. Very handy. Inside our island are outlets for the stovetop and trash compactor as well. I don't think you have to worry about those on your island. Things you might want to look at: plugmold, low profile outlets that don't take up much cabinet space if they project into a cabinet, and maybe even those pop-up plugs, but I think some building departments hate those.

Of course, things like GFI protection and 20 amp circuitry and such should all be spelled out whether you pull permits or not. Just to be safe, make sure that the contract specifies that all work must meet building code - you never know if the building department will see the trucks and stop by to see what is going on. We learned the hard way that contractors will put in the cheapest installations possible but promise it is to code.

A typical kitchen requires about 6-7 separate circuits at least.

One lighting change that we are thinking about: we turn on too many lights when we use the kitchen. We are probably going to have the ceiling lighting changed at some point so that we can turn on the lights only on the side of the kitchen that we need the lighting. Save a little energy that way.

Something helpful to me was when I went through my kitchen mentally, cabinet by cabinet to make sure there was a spot in the new kitchen for everything we have. Think about where you are going to store your vitamins, your medicines, your salad bowls, your cookie cutters, your cake decorating supplies, your large serving trays, your onions, your potatoes, maybe a kitchen radio?, a cable modem, phone jack, batteries, dishtowels, potholders, ladles, tupperware, . . . One thing we also considered but decided against - a drawer or shelf where we could put our cellphones to charge - - then, maybe you'd like an outlet inside a cabinet for a rechargable flashlight. Do you have an alarm system that needs to be accounted for?

Think about everything on your counters right now. Does the coffeemaker bug you - an appliance garage? How about something stain resistant under the coffee maker?

You don't have to answer all of these questions online. Some of this your kitchen designer anticipates in plans, but they are busy people, too. Ultimately, it's up to you. Just things to think about during planning.

I'll be honest, the restriction on the range is a definite obstacle in making this a kitchen where "...2 of us [can] move within the kitchen at the same time without continually bumping into each other..."

The problem is, your sink and range are too close to each other...that's probably why you're bumping into each other. I see that you've moved the sink over a little, so it will help some.

Your refrigerator will have to be pulled out from the back wall so the doors are completely past the side wall or the wall will have to be reduced to no more than the depth of the refrigerator carcass + back air clearance. This is the only way to allow your refrigerator doors to open fully...unless it has the hinges only on the right side...but then, it will be oriented wrong for its landing space & the kitchen.

Also, I don't think you can get a 2-bin trash pullout in a 15" cabinet...I think you need at least 18".

What about something like this? In this layout, there could be two of you prepping at the same time, one cooking/one prepping, or one cleaning up/one prepping or cooking.

It stays within the footprint of your layout (i.e., it does not extend any further into the Dining area.)

Thanks, Plumberiavine. Great advice on a number of important issues. We live in a condo so we need to have our plans approved by the board before work can begin. We are required to obtain permits and an engineer's certification. All the tradesmen also need to show evidence of insurance coverage and to name the condo assn. as an additional insured.

Buele, I was hoping you would reply. I have been reading a lot of your advice and your kitchen is amazing! I am printing out a copy of your plan to study - it is so different than what I was thinking. Just a few preliminary questions/points.

1. Where would the pantry be in your design?

2. Perhaps I am not understanding what the dish hutch will look like but my design is contemporary and I see a dish hutch as more country or traditional. What else would you recommend in that location?

3. I'm not sure how to read what is to the right of the refrigerator with the microwave. What would it look like?

4. I can certainly bring the wall beside the refrigerator back - Great point! I have a little room to recess the refrigerator a bit. Do you think it would be wise to do that? I was thinking about a FD refrigerator with cabinet panels or would I need a single door there that opened on the side of the shorter wall so that the counter/cabinets/drawers on the right would work?

An admin question. Why do I recieve a messge rejection that requires me to change the subject if I have already posted a response? Am I doing something wrong?

Buele, In addtion to the questions in my last post ... I am liking your addition of a prep sink. Do you think the 2 sinks are necessary in such a small kitchen? I am not sure about the the location of the cleanup sink since I will also be using that island counter for serving at times. If I switched the location of 2 sinks what revisions would you suggest?